I found an opening for a nursing assistant at a veteran's hospital that I am more than qualified for and would love to do.

I
have like 5 years of experience as a family caregiver so I know the
basics of nursing. However, the application process is very tedious and
long. For those of you that currently have federal/government jobs
(especially in health care) what was the application process like?

How long did it take to hear back from them if you were
hired? Did you speak to an HR representative in person (or over
the phone) about your application?

I already know that nursing is a very demanding and stressful
job, but it's at a veteran's hospital and I love the area and the people
there are very friendly. I'm fully prepared to make this career choice.

I have a few friends who have federal nursing jobs. I don't know about the application process but I know they make a disproportionately more than us civilian nurses. They also work under 3-6 month contracts and are always pressed when it's time to renegotiate. Might be tedious but might be worth it. Best of luck to you OP.

They have changed the application process so it is a tad easier than it was before to apply. If you are applying for a job at the VA or any other federal agency the first thing is to make sure you have the same key words of the JOB DUTIES in your resume. That is how they weed out most of the resumes. You will have to upload it and then once you have submitted it you will go to an application manager screen.

At that screen you will be asked a series of questions and they mainly (I don't know what yours will be) they are questions about what you have done and it will either be with supervision/little supervision/on your own. Again the questions for nursing may be different.

It may take a few months, there is a process of making certification books then having the supervisors go through the resumes. There can be up to 150-300 people the made the cert.

I have applied and been given certification books to review so I have a little experience. Again each job may be different but the government system is about the same across the board.

They have changed the application process so it is a tad easier than it was before to apply. If you are applying for a job at the VA or any other federal agency the first thing is to make sure you have the same key words of the JOB DUTIES in your resume. That is how they weed out most of the resumes. You will have to upload it and then once you have submitted it you will go to an application manager screen.

At that screen you will be asked a series of questions and they mainly (I don't know what yours will be) they are questions about what you have done and it will either be with supervision/little supervision/on your own. Again the questions for nursing may be different.

It may take a few months, there is a process of making certification books then having the supervisors go through the resumes. There can be up to 150-300 people the made the cert.

I have applied and been given certification books to review so I have a little experience. Again each job may be different but the government system is about the same across the board.

HTH, good luck though.

Wow thanks for the advice!Do you know how long your resume should be? I hear it has to be at least 3 to 4 pages long
I think I'm more nervous about making my resume stand out because the
procedure is way different that applying to regular jobs.

Please tear up your 5 page resume! ONE page my dear and a second page for references only. One common mistake is that people think they need to include every job they ever did on their resume. No, no, no. If it was less than a year, you look like a liability. It cost a lot of money and if a person's resume tells a story of job hopping, I'm not taking that risk.

Your resume should list your objection, your PERTINENT work experience, your education and that's it. References should be professional, professors in pertinent studies and perhaps a long-term family friend, pastor or working person in the field.

Put yourself in the position of the person reading the resumes. You want clear, concise and qualified.

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